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You guys kept it mostly to the immediate here-and-now or immediate future. Things will keep changing ever more quickly. We've already gone past the information age and into the attention age. Clickbait and its siblings will dominate much more over the next 10 years, and will evolve to become even more invasive and attractive to humans. The average person's time is more crowded than ever with all media competing for attention. (Think about how many books you're reading now vs just five years ago...)

I think that MGoBlog is a true exception that is in part a lucky confluence:

Brian's talent, passion, and conviction.

As noted, the uniqueness of the Michigan fan base money-cannon and ability/desire to read with critical thought

The "moment" when blogging basically went extinct and Brian taking this endeavor forward at the right time. Maybe less important, but my point is that it was built from something naturally, not a New Coke kind of launch.

Primary focus being on a sport that attracts a certain type of fanatic, one that prefers stories and information over clickbait. (Have there ever been any good NFL team blogs?)

The benefit of the wider Michigan universe, principally the other sports, but the University and Ann Arbor culture provides a ready-made community based on shared experience

I don't expect that other sites can repeat this roadmap unless they have the same kinds of conditions.

I am grateful for this site every day. Having moved out of the country in 2008, it has been a true lifeblood for me in connecting back to the football team and university in general throughout that time. Thanks guys!

1997 was supposed to be Bill Clinton, but knee surgery changed his schedule. So instead they got... Lee Bollinger. It was a cold and rainy day. But Bolliger gave a great speech, after which people were not all that upset.

Not af the same level, but the general malaise from the fan base heading into the 1997 season was pretty significant. The team had lost four games each of the previous four years. Despite going 3-1 vs OSU, the vibe was that Michigan was in decline, and the outlook for the year was not promising. I vividly recall a friend sending me the news that "Fuckin' Griese was named starter for the Colorado game. Another great year of Michigan football..."

Wr knew Woodson was special, of course, but I don't think anyone imagined it would be the best Michigan team in a half-century and national champion.

Pay the players for marketing by which they are currently exploiting them. Give them a commission for every ad, promo, feature, mention of games for TV in which their name or likeness is used. That's where the biggest portion of the money pie comes from and can solve most of the issue on its own. (And do the same for jerseys as this is the most obvious thing in the world.) Would be unfair to the more successful programs, but so is every aspect of recruiting already.

"Instead of designating one person to serve as the team's chief offensive play caller, or limit the discussion to himself and one other coach, Harbaugh keeps an open dialogue going with his entire offensive staff from snap-to-snap on the sidelines during game days."

Not one mention of the fact that this replaces spring practice time that overlaps with classes. But of course we get some sanctimony about "not getting too far away from academics" without that explaining that this trip does exactly that.

I'm cerainly no expert, and I imagine the advanced metrics would be telling. What we can say is that it seemed very rare this season that O-line blocks effectively made it to the second level, particularly against the better teams. Perhaps on some playcalls that is not the design, but most of the times a running back was "sprung" it was due to his own jukes or broken tackles. Especially since Newsome's injury.

That indicates that during the flow of the game the run blocking was far from top-notch. What does that mean for end-of-game drives with nine in the box on defense? Maybe not much. Let's see what happens next year with a new (albeit younger) line.

Cubs at #1 invaldiates the whole endeavor. Most misguided fans in sport. Great for them that they won this year, sure there are a ton of them. But every year (going back for more than 100 of 'em), they were convinced that this would be the year. And until this season they always, always lost.

How remarkable it is that Ed had only boys, and four of 'em. His wife was an accomplished soccer player, and father-in-law a world-class sprinter. So the kids are bascially genetically engineered for athletic excellence.

Anyway, if Michigan can get two of 'em to play in Ann Arbor, all the better.

Don't the chains need to be tip to tip? Meaning if they put the ball square on the 25 to start, then the nose of the ball is already past it? Or do they put the tip of the ball on the 25? If it's square, then the tip-to-first-down is actually just inside the 15. Anyone know?

I was lucky enough to meet/interview Carr in 2008, and during the conversation he recalled not just the name, but also the personality of the football coach at my high school in suburban Chicago. The dude had retired in 1991.

Totally agree with you, MA. The season is definitely in hold serve mode as we gear up to to a one-game regular season at OSU. Whatever the final SOS holds won't be revelant unless Michigan is trying to get in the back door after a loss in Columbus. But let's not worry about that for now.

My comment was more about the fact that the team has not been tested on the road, and hasn't performed well on the road the last few years. So that simply makes me nervous until proven otherwise. Iowa will be the best indicator thus far, but still nothing compared to The Game. Can't wait!!

Had my daughter's third birthday party on Saturday as well. These kiddos have a ton of energy! Happy to have that behind us, but no way could I have found the energy to sit down and write something, especially after another "ho-hum" blowout of an inferior opponent. Once again, kudos to you!

Some national reporters are (accurately) noting that Michigan's road schedule thus far has not exactly been a strenuous one. Iowa will certainly be the hardest road test of the season in advance of OSU. So I do hope that they bring their best game and challenge the team. I still feel a bit snakebit after how awful the Hoke teams performed away from home. And the Minnesota and Indiana games from last year reinforced the old concerns.

But it is a new year, so stomping Herkey in prime time will be the biggest indicator thus far that the team is becoming prepared for The Game.

If I understand correctly, the determination on a medical redshirt is the % of season that a player has participated in. Clark played in 4 / 12 games and theoretically has the possibility of applying for this.

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but if Michigan wins the division, then the conference title game, makes the playoff and wins the semifinal, that would mean 15 games played in the season. Newsome would have appeard in 5 / 15 which is the same ratio as Clark. Does anyone know if this longshot hope would get him another year?

No Worst for Wilt? He was off all game. Even on TV it was clear that he was missing on which receivers were open. e.g. the pick was thrown into quadruple coverage. How does that happen? A better option had to be available.

Worst also: Newsome's injury.

Re TV timeouts: It would be great if someone wiith a DVR of this game can count the gametime vs ad time here. I don't even mean the portion with running plays. Just how much they were broadcasting. A total joke. At least the NFL has safegaurds in place to make sure this doesn't happen (limiting the total # of breaks in a game). I know getting that negotiated for NCAA games would be tough, but it's brutal for the people in the stands and the players. Also irritating for those at home.

Bet a UW grad from work. Loser has to change his e-mail profile image to the winner's logo. I told him that's a bad bet for him because he surely hates Michigan more than I hate Wisconsin. (Though I guess that would change with a Michigan loss.) But he said, "Nah, I live in Cincinnati. It would be fun to piss off the locals."

Before every play I'm looking to see where he is and often watching him isntead of the ball. (Probably like the opposing OC.) And really, watching him is just as good because it's very likely he and the ball will meet in short order.

Before you label us all with your broad myopia brush, many of us prefer 4 or 6, and based on the comments in this section alone, nobody seems to be saying 8 is a good idea. It's been only three seasons (thus far extremely successeful). Let's see how this verison works out before we assume all are with in line with the concept of fundamentally changing the sport.

1994 was the best football game I've ever seen in person. Amazing back and forth from two heavyweights. Wheatley coming back from injury to reclaim the game right after the half. Just amazing, despite the depressing outcome.

1) He needs to set a record for TFLs in a season. He is currently on pace for that, but it has to continue. Sammy Brown had 30 for Houston in 2011, next closest is Scooby Wright with 29 in 2014. These days a Heisman contendor needs stats, and it's the only one he'll be able to rack up.

2) Highlight reel - others have mentioned it, but he needs the vineable, gifable, wow plays, and they have to come against the top competition in big moments.

3) Contribute on offense - ideally with some of those wow plays in big games.

4) At least three more TDs of any variety

5) Michigan has to be undefeated

Others have mentioned interceptions which would certainly help, but are not necessary if he can set a TFL record.

The only relevant comparison is Charles Woodson. It was always a longshot that Woodson would win. But he had those wow plays and then some in the biggest games (PSU, MSU, OSU). He also had the luxury of going up against Peyton Manning who underperformed in the big games. If Louisville or Clemson stays undefeated and Jackson or Watson play well, it will be nearly impossible for Peppers.

One of my personal favotes, and used by many teams aside from Clemson (LSU, plus "secondary" use by Princeton, Auburn, and Missouri). Though I would agree that the Clemson version is the best. Would surely be in my top ten.

Thanks for continuing to write these, BronxBlue. Love having this piece as a quick reaction to the game. I don't know how you do it with the two little'uns at home. I barely am able to watch at all! (Probably doesn't help that I'm on European time and so the 2nd and 3rd quarters come during bath/dinner/bedtime.)

Also, another cool thing is thank you very much for creating the video and posting it here. Very hard to give blowouts the needed attention these days with a 2.5 year-old and 2.5 month-old at home. I hope they grow up enough before the last five games on the schedule!

The gold watch for Osborne was no way to decide a championship played on the field.

Also important; Nebraska sent the Mizzou game to overtime on an illegal play. Michigan had no overtime games, and in fact only two that coudl even be considered close calls. The Rose Bowl and when they played Tim Dwight.

I was referring to the concept of a GOAT discussion in general. Those two stand out above all comers. Maybe someone could argue Steffi Graf, but they would lose that argument.

It's a bit silly to say someone is the GOAT basketball olympian when we have various other elite-level data points for the exact same sport. It's an arbitrary slice of a category - unless we had seen some vast difference in performance. In that sense, perhaps Manu Ginobili is the GOAT becuase he led a decennt Argentina team to a gold medal. Nobody else has accomplished anything like that in the "sport" of olympic basketball.

For swimming, gymnastics, track and field, figure skating, it is the place where GOAT distinctions are won. Tennis and basketball, not so much.

A "GOAT" has to be evidently, clearly the GOAT. We're talking "Serena or Martina" (when really nobody else comes close). Or at least with a body of work to judge fairly to parse details. Jordan was the clear leader of the Dream Team and the 1984 gold medal team. It's pretty hard to say Melo has clearly surpassed him. He never even led a team in scoring, and was on the 2004 team that got the bronze (granted, the youngest member on the team, but roughly the same age as Jordan in 1984).

Was studying abroad in London and a girl in our program had locked herself out of her room. She asked if I could leap from the stairway window to her balcony to unlock the door. I'd had two beers, which was enough to agree to something so stupid. Four floors up, and below was a mishmash of pipes, chain-link fence, and cement. I made the leap without issue, hooking my elbow onto the balcony and climbing up. But any misstep would have surely led to death or worse.

The kicker: though she was a nice person the girl was not remotely attractive, and so I had no particular incentive to do this. I never did anything so foolish again.

When we put sunscreen on my 2.5 yo daughter we call it "baby massage" and there's a whole song that goes along with it. She got a bit too much sun yesterday and I wanted to give her the post-sun moisturizer which happens to be blue. After her bath I am drying her off and I tell her we're going to do "blue massage." So of course she gleefully shouts "GO BLUE!" and raises her fist, punching me square in the eye.

Irons is likely underapprecaited in Michigan lore simply because his team lost four games every year (incidentally, the four years I was a student - and we thought that was so horrible at the time!). He had already made a name for himself as a redshirt freshman when finishing the famous goalline stand against PSU in 1993. He then went on to one of the best Michigan linebacker careers in recent memory.

I still believe if he hadn't been injured for the Northwestern game in 1996, Michigan would have easily won and changed the whole trajectory of that seasson.

Excellent diary, and thanks for reminding me of Wallenberg's story. I had no idea he was a Michigan grad!

Maybe this is a bit spammy, but for those intersted in a related story I thought I would share here.

Just before my father passed away earlier this year, he published a book about the rescue of 100+ children who were hiding in southern France, of which he was one. It features similar aspects of bravery, luck, and tragedy. If interested, you can find more information about it here.

I'm either a contrarian or just have very different taste from the majority of the mgocommunity. Many of my favorites went downn last round, and when Grinch beats Spring Game Grin, I'll shed another tear.

While many are busy bemoaning the overuse of the disrespekt topic, why has no one concerned themselves with a more critical issue not mentioned in the article. What became of the undelivered pizzas? Were they returned? When returned were they still hot?

...have you been to Clemson? Absolutely beautiful campus. Crazy (loud) fans, Gorgeous women. Better weather. Unique traditions like Howard's rock and The Hill. Oh, and they nearly won the national title last season.

You're taking one quote from Dabo (who does appear to be quite the gomer) and you think that one quote is going to counter all of the above. Apprecaite you putting your thoughts together, but you've overanalyzed one data point.

And furthermore, it's out of our hands, so just relax and take in the news.

Also, how on earth did you not see it before? And how on earth on earth could it possibly be boring? Maybe it's because so many have copied its style since then that, though it was groundbreaking in 1994, it now seems totally played out.

I recall my first trip to some LatAm regional meetings in 2002, and my colleagues asked me "Hey Andrew, how is the Spanish going?" I said I was doing OK, but felt bad because I could not undersatnd our Chilean team member veyr well. They all laughed and said in near unison "He's Chilean, none of us can understand him!" Good for you to be able to manage it well!

Argentinean is definitely a unique challenge, but after living there I quickly came to love it. The y/ll is fun and the "vos" makes the verbs more aggresive which, though at first offputting, becomes simply spirited after a while.

...my initial thought was, "Sounds great. Former Michigan football player, so that's a major plus." Then I remembered that the same applied to DB Dave Brandon. Apples and oranges as Manuel is clearly an experienced and competent AD. Still not over DB DB I guess.

Hart and Henne were both badly injured in that game, but did their best to play as neither had a viable backup. Henny couldn't get the ball 15 yards downfield and Hart was not very mobile. As evidenced by the following year, the cupboard was bare.

Basketball turnaround may be worhthy to reference from a feelings standpoint, but let's keep it focused on football. Citing a Michigan Rose Bowl year as the "pre" period doesn't help us too much. That's not where we've been. So let's talk about football programs who were also in the wilderness before someone who could truly stabalize the program.

Here are some additional data points:

Florida Galen Hall

1986 - 6-5

1987 - 6-6

1988 - 7-5

1989 - 7-5

Florida Steve Spurrier

1990 - 9-2

1991 - 10-2

1992 - 9-4

1993 - 11-2

Oklahoma John Blake

1996 - 3-8

1997 - 4-8

1998 - 5-6

Oklahoma Bob Stoops

1999 - 7-5

2000 - 13-0

2001 - 11-2

2002 - 12-2

USC Paul Hackett

1998 - 8-5

1999 - 6-6

2000 - 5-7

2001 - 6-6

USC Pete Carroll

2001 - 6-6

2002 - 11-2

2003 - 12-1

2004 - 13-0

Florida Ron Zook

2002 - 8-5

2003 - 8-5

2004 - 7-5

Florida Urban Meyer

2005 - 9-3

2006 - 13-1

2007 - 9-4

2008 - 13-1

Alabama Mike Shula

2003 - 4-9

2004 - 6-6

2005 - 10-2

2006 - 6-7

Alabama Nick Saban

2007 - 7-6

2008 - 12-2

2009 - 14-0

2010 - 10-3

Michigan Brady Hoke

2011 - 11-2

2012 - 8-5

2013 - 7-6

2014 - 5-7

Michigan Jim Harbaugh

2015 - 9-3*

The gigantic caveat is that these are the success stories. In all cases National Championships were achieved during the years listed above or very soon after. We should keep in mind that Ron Zook also took over for someone else and you see his performance above. But based on the evidence in his career we have reason to believe he belongs with this group rather than with the Zooks until proven otherwise.

So where does this year's turnaround stand compared to those above? Looking at the change in first year win % from worst to best:

Carroll - 0%

Saban - 8%

Stoops - 13%

Meyer - 17%

Spurrier - 23%

Harbaugh - 33%*

Now, it is likely that Hoke's last team underperformed, but even if we kindly grant them one additional win, Harbaugh would still top the list at 25%.

We have every reason to be excited about the future, especially if the recruiting season ends up with the anticipated positive momentum. Assuming this is one of those turnarounds, there seem sto be evidence that Michigan is ahead of schedule.

And by far the worst call of the game was the drive-killing "blocking below the waist" penalty for a block in the shoulder. A rarely called penalty that couldn't have been seen in this case because it obviously didn't happen.

And none of this compares to how Wisconsin got jobbed. The league needs to take significant action this offseason. I don't remember the refs in this league ever being this bad. There must be some reason for the constant failure.

Also worst: this announcing team. I assume we won't have them next week again!

If Utah runs the table from here on out, I doubt the committee would put Michigan in above them. Their only losses are a bad one at USC and OT at Arizona. The head-to-head would be hard to overcome. So we want them to fare well, but still pick up another loss.

I think part of the reason fans would want this is for the sake of the Home and Home. The Tennessee fan that suggested it to me wanted to visit Big Ten Stadiums, not FedEx field or whatever.

Plus getting that many NFL stadiums lined up would only add to the logistical problems.

I think the three main challenges are:

1) Schools schedule their own games out of conference, and there's not much a conference can do to force them to schedule particular teams

2) So many games are scheduled so far in advance. The second one can be managed with a bit of patience of course.

3) The most compelling way to make this happen would be via TV $$$$$$$. And that gets very complicated given that it's the home team that sets up the rights. You'd think that ESPN/CBS/SECN/BTN would want to make it happen as well, but the devil would be in the details on how they choose which games go on which network.

All of this is surmountable, but it would take a lot of work and arm-twisting to make it happen. Beilema's not going to be the one to do it.

He said he'd heard of similar proposals before and saw how it would be a good idea. However, he also said it would likely be impossible to implement for various reasons. And if the B1G and Pac-## couldn't do it after agreeing to the concept, how would one expect to convince all these SEC teams that won't travel to get on board?

He fielded a roller and still got it in place. He's supposed to be able to calculate his options in that situation? And even still, picking it up and running is a sure turnover on downs. At least he gave the kicker a chance...

Fantastic stuff. One question - looking up older players brought mixed resutls. e.g. Lamarr Woodley and Leon Hall have full data for 2006. But Mike Hart has only two games showing up. Are there some gaps in the earlier data?

I think that's a pretty harsh assessment. Yes, the D gave up a 53 yard run to Tavian Banks. No, they didn't make any other significant mistakes and generally dominated a strong offense.

The secound touchdown was a 1-yard drive set up by a Griese interception. The third was a Tim Dwight punt return on the last play of the half. The final Iowa scoring, a FG, was also wholly set up by a Dwight kickoff return.

Total yards for Iowa? 187. So yes, condemn the defense for the 53 yard run, but the rest of the day they gave up only 134 against an offense that averaged 383 per game on the season (inclusive of this one).

Also, hard to say that the offense "bailed them out" when the offense gave up the interception that set up the one-yard drive and also couldn't get a first down to end the half that set up the punt return touchdown.

If you're looking for fault with the 1997 defense, you're going to have trouble finding it to begin with. Regardless, the Iowa game is not the best place to look.

The stats look pretty good, and the team is definitely making improvements. But there are so many mistakes throughout each of the last three games. It seemed like a step backwards compared to OSU (perhaps to be expected), but all accounts indicated that this should be more of a walkover than it was. That two of the four TDs came off of big plays that likely won't be there against anyone not named Indiana, Rutgers, or Maryland makes me very concerned about the offense. Put another way, it would have been better to see more than two sustained scoring drives against the UNLV defense. Or another way: Doesn't five punts seem like a lot against UNLV, especially with a turnover on top of that?

Peppers chasing down the RB on OSU's first TD drive. Right near the beginning of the game with 14:28 on the clock. Not a good Michigan play, and obviously not a fun part of the game. But man does this kid have wheels!

OK, so we should take this off the threa (but I'm not keen on publishing my e-mail address here). If you click the link in my signature, it'll take you to my old blog where you can see the e-mail near the top right.

1) Brian usually links to a bit torrent of the game in his post-game posting, but that won't work with your social media blackout.

2) If you can find a friend who has a slingbox, you should be able to have them DVR it and watch the next day. Or even watch live. I believe anyone who has Dish network has this feature automatically.

I'm in Switzerland and have similar problems, but #2 has worked for me the last two seasons. (Can I say regrettably? Regrettably: it's no fun watching us blow a dumb game to PSU on an ipad at 2:30am...)

I was watching the 1997 Colorado game yesterday and realized though it would be unorthodox, and maybe I would be the only one interested, I would love to see a WH Chris Floyd video. I realize it would be 65% blocks, but they would be kickass blocks.

An "amazing" game due to the high number of points, but that was driven by the comedy of errors by both defenses. Even the ending was brutal - Michigan in position for a long FG try from Epstein and the ball goes through Navarre's hands on the hold. Plus, in addition to Thoms' fumble, Damien Anderson dropped an easy TD pass right before. Just a mess all around.